Monday, 29th September, 2014
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert has revealed that he is yet to decide whether to include Christian Benteke in his squad for their Premier League fixture against Manchester City on Saturday.
The Belgian international ruptured his Achilles tendon while training in April and was sidelined for the remainder of the Villains’ 2013/14 season.
However Benteke, who also subsequently missed his nation’s World Cup campaign, resumed full training two weeks ago.
But Lambert does not want to rush back the striker too soon and will only decide on Benteke’s involvement in the Citizens game after seeing how the 23-year-old fares this week in training.
"We'll see how he does this week. He's been back for a fortnight now”, he told Villa’s official site.
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"You've got to remember he's been out for five months and has only been in full training for two weeks. I'll have that dialogue with him. We'll see how he feels.
"If we think he's justified to go in with his fitness levels then that's something that myself and the staff will decide.”
Benteke, who has a further three years left on his present contract with Aston Villa, has thus far amassed 67 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 34 goals and providing 10 assists.
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